The art of offspin bowling just got a bit more complex! Close on the heels of Saeed Ajmal’s promise to use the 'teesra’ in the second Test between England and Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, his English counterpart Graeme Swann is believed to be working overtime on a new delivery.
Published: Jan 21, 2012, 12:29 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 21, 2012, 12:29 PM (IST)
Graeme Swann… will perform the “Chautha” at Abu Dhabi! © Getty Images
By Madan Mohan
The art of offspin bowling just got a bit more complex! Close on the heels of Saeed Ajmal’s promise to use the ‘teesra’ in the second Test between England and Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, his English counterpart Graeme Swann is believed to be working overtime on a new delivery.
According to reports available, the new delivery will be called the ‘chautha’. Apparently, Swann was reluctant to expose this secret weapon so early into England’s subcontinental sojourn. But the prospect of a series loss against Pakistan has sent the alarm bells ringing. England’s spin bowling expert Mushtaq Ahmed is believed to be working closely with Swann on the development and perfection of the ‘chautha’.
Efforts to learn more about the exact nature of this delivery proved futile. England are leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that nothing leaks out about this delivery. And to that end, whenever Swann has a bowl, the nets are covered with thick plastic sheets like the ones employed to cover Mayawati’s statues in Uttar Pradesh. Swann was contacted by a correspondent and pressed for more information about the ‘chautha’ to which he shrugged and said the nature of the pitch would determine which way it went.
On learning of these developments, Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul Haq expressed his surprise at Swann’s claims. He believed, on the contrary, that Swann had in fact used the ‘chautha’ in the first Test and their batsmen had read him off the hand! He refused to divulge any details about the style of Swann’s release when he bowled these alleged ‘chauthas’.
Swann rubbished Misbah’s claims.
We also sought the views of legendary left-arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi on this. He claimed it is impossible to bowl a ‘chautha’ without bending the elbow and Swann must be asked to roll up his sleeves while bowling in the next few Test matches. He lamented that the International Cricket Council (ICC) had presided quietly over the corruption of the fine art of spin bowling and hoped Swann would not set a poor example for aspiring spinners.
All eyes will now be on what Swann’s hands come January 25.
(Madan Mohan is a 26-year old chartered accountant from Mumbai. The writing bug bit him when he was eight and to date, he has not been cured of it. He loves music, cricket, tennis and cinema and writing on cricket is like the icing on the cake. He also writes a blog if he is not feeling too lazy at http://rothrocks.wordpress.com/)
